Dawson Lake in Moraine View State Park just east of the Bloomington-Normal area is a crappie factory. In fact, the 158-acre lake has been producing so many crappies for so many years that there may be too many of them.

Local anglers have long complained that very few of the crappies they catch are eating-sized. A sampling of the lake conducted a few years ago by DNR biologist Mike Garthaus seemed to confirm this. Garthaus found very high numbers of crappies, and 80 percent of them were over 8 inches long, but a mere 3 percent of them were over 9 inches.

Action was taken in 2003. The daily limit on crappies at Dawson was reduced to 10, but the size restriction was removed. The new limits aim at allowing anglers to take home more of the smaller crappies. Ultimately the new regulations should result in lower numbers of crappies, but more big ones. For now, expect to catch plenty of small crappies at Dawson.

For more info about Dawson Lake and Moraine View State Park, call the site office at (309) 724-8032.

In southwestern Illinois, Randolph County Conservation Area Lake may be the best small-water crappie lake around. The crappies seem to get off good spawns here every year, and they grow to respectable size.

Randolph County Lake is a great little lake for canoeing. It is only 78 acres in surface area with less than four miles of shoreline, so it is easy to get around. The lake is almost entirely surrounded by forest, which protects it from the April winds that are the bane of canoeists. It is fairly deep for its size, but there is a lot of shallow water in the sheltered coves where crappies like to spawn.

Local DNR biologist Barry Newman says that 53 percent of the black crappies in Randolph County Lake are over 9 inches. The lake also has excellent fishing for redear sunfish, and the saugeyes that have recently been stocked are coming on, too.

For more information about Randolph County Conservation Area, call the site office at (618) 826-2706.

Lake Storey in west-central Illinois is a lot like Randolph County Lake. The 138-acre lake is weedy and deep, but there are spawning flats for crappies in the lake’s many coves. Storey is probably better known for its bass and muskie fishing, but it has high densities of crappies in the 8- to 10-inch range, according to biologist Ken Russell. The lake is located in Lake Storey Park in Knox County near the town of Galesburg.

Floating The Rivers
As for rivers, Illinois has many that are great for float-fishing. Some of them are famous among paddlers, streams like the Kankakee, Vermilion and Kishwaukee, to name a few. Those three and many others have crystal-clear water, scenic vistas and excellent smallmouth bass fishing. But unfortunately, they are not particularly good for crappie fishing.

The best crappie streams are slower and more turbid than classic float streams. Lowland rivers like the Kaskaskia, Wabash and Little Wabash rivers still have some good crappie fishing in their backwaters and oxbows, although public access is not very good.

Maybe the best canoe stream for crappies in our state is Salt Creek at the point where it flows into Clinton Lake in De Witt County. Clinton is a huge impoundment that was formed by damming the creek back in the 1970s. What remains of Salt Creek above the lake is now a designated canoeing area, and it is one of the best crappie hotspots around.

Access Salt Creek at the canoe landing on County Road 1200N. From there you can paddle up into the narrows of the creek, or downstream toward the lake. The current is so sluggish that you can paddle upstream without any problem, and put-in and take-out at the same place.